SIR – I wanted to highlight my concerns again about Welsh Government ploughing ahead regardless on its £1bn M4 relief road around Newport following comments made by business leaders.

A Plaid Cymru freedom of information inquiry recently found that another £11m will be spent by the Welsh Government before the 2016 Assembly elections - when, depending on the result of the election, a decision will be made on the scheme.

There is a much cheaper alternative – at just over a third of the £1bn tab – and it would mean that not all Wales’ infrastructure money is ploughed into one scheme. The so-called black route is not only a waste of money but will run across the environmentally sensitive, Gwent Levels.

It is difficult to understand how any government would want to damage such an important area.

Plaid Cymru supports action to tackle traffic congestion on this vital artery – it’s just that the Welsh Government is proposing the wrong option.

Lindsay Whittle AM,

Plaid Cymru, South Wales East

I do not recognise this version of Wales

SIR – Given Owen Smith’s position as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, I accept that our national newspaper is obliged to give him a certain amount of press coverage, but do we have to suffer his endless emotionally incontinent diatribes? Mr Smith’s level of political debate is generally confined to vitriolic and delusion abuse of the English and the Tory party specifically and lacks any coherent arguments to support the causes he claims to believe in.

Given the Coalition’s commitment to maintain and increase NHS spending in Wales and the UK, despite the need for ongoing cuts across all other Government departments, Mr Smith’s statement that the Prime Minister is “unfit to lace the boots” of Aneurin Bevan seems not only inaccurate but completely illogical.

Furthermore, given the fact that the Welsh Government has had responsibility for the NHS in Wales since 1999, surely at least some criticism of its performance should be directed at the Labour administration which is responsible for it?

It is also worth noting that Mr Smith’s emotionally based rants make any constructive debate on the NHS, which is desperately needed, impossible to achieve. This ill serves the Welsh electorate.

The constant negativity about the Tories and the Thatcher period are counter productive and help to engender a constant feeling in certain areas of Wales of resentment and victimhood. I certainly do not recognise the Wales Mr Smith inhabits; there are so many more positive narratives in Welsh life - witness the wonderful news of 1,100 new jobs created in Wales announced to coincide with the UK Investment Summit Wales last week. Perhaps I could point out to Mr Smith and his supporters that 100 years of socialism in Wales has given us GDP which is 70% of the UK average and declining and the lowest social mobility in Europe. Perhaps Wales and its voters should try a different approach.

Let’s stop wasting energy fighting for a glorious past which is long gone and implement policies that will make Wales the best place to do business in Europe.

Mark Rhydderch-Roberts

Crickhowell, Powys

UK at forefront of fight against Ebola

SIR – I’m very pleased that research projects managed by Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance, based in Cardiff, have been announced to combat the spread of Ebola in West Africa.

This is the largest Ebola outbreak we have ever seen and it’s clear we must act fast to tackle the disease before it spreads around the world. I’m proud that the UK is at the forefront of the international fight against Ebola.

The Coalition Government has so far committed £230m, which is helping to fund 200 new community care centres and three UK Ebola Laboratories in Sierra Leone. We are also helping to fund clinical trials in the UK to find a safe vaccine for Ebola and in the European Parliament Lib Dems have called for significant EU funding to support this.

The Ebola epidemic shows how important international aid is and the positive role Britain can play around the globe. In Government the Lib Dems have guaranteed 0.7% of our national income is spent on the world’s poorest and we are committed to ensuring that future governments do the same in order help stop the spread of deadly diseases around the world.

Jenny Willott MP

Liberal Democrats, Cardiff Central

‘More power’ really means ‘more cuts’

SIR – Scotland has had the good sense not to use their tax raising powers for fear of losing their funding from Westminster, and the latest proposals for tax raising powers for Wales will very likely mean a cut in the £15bn Welsh budget.

Westminster Newspeak for ‘localism’ has meant more powers for local government while cutting their council budgets. As money is power, ‘more power for Wales’ will be Newspeak for more cuts, because the view from the East coast is that Wales and Scotland are simply too expensive when North Sea oil and gas revenues are declining. If the Welsh Assembly used their existing powers wisely to reform local government, Wales could show England that Assembly Government would work for them, and could be cost neutral by replacing the Lords.

Instead of sacking Emily Thornberry from the Shadow Cabinet, Labour should be concerned about the rise in nationalism that has destroyed the solidarity of our former coalfields.

Margaret Phelps

Raisdale Gardens, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan

Cut out the irritating crowd shots, BBC

SIR – TV coverage of great sporting events goes from strength to strength, making use of all the modern technology available to to production teams. How irritating it is, therefore, that the BBC insists on cutting to a “crowd” shot every time the whistle blows at a Wales international rugby match.

We are then treated to repetitive views of enthusiastic followers pointing at themselves on the giant screen. If these views are so popular, why not dedicate a red button channel to crowd shots? They are about as interesting as a view of the Mexican Wave. I suspect the BBC’s response to such a suggestion would be that it wouldn’t be worth it because nobody would watch it, which says it all, doesn’t it?

Stick to what you are good at, BBC, and forget about cutting to rejoicing/gutted/selfie enthusiasts.

Tim Johns

Castlemorris, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire

Rugby games last for 80 minutes

SIR – So near but yet so far! For a while on Saturday it looked as if Welsh dreams would come true. Expectations were sky high but I think Steve Hansen summed it up at the end when he said “If you want to win games, you have to play for 80 mins - something Wales seem incapable of doing against southern hemisphere sides. It was a fine game to watch, I thought the Welsh boys, particularly the forwards gave their all, the defensive play was first class. Unfortunately, some of the few scoring opportunities which did arise went amiss because of simple errors with Lady Luck not wearing a daffodil on Saturday.

Regardless of high degrees of fitness the pace and intensity of the game began to tell. The replacements did not all click and perhaps could have come on earlier. The All Blacks paced their game better and in the last crucial 10 minutes looked more in control. Those last tries were easy, arising from simple errors by Wales. Are our expectations too high? Not really, New Zealand has a small population also and it has not hampered their game. Ireland seem to have mastered what it takes to beat these Southern Hemisphere sides and I think we could learn from them.